IOverview
The Orthodox Bahá'í Faith is a small group that separated from the Bahá'í community after 1960. It follows Mason Remey, a senior American Bahá'í who in 1960 declared himself the second Guardian in succession to Shoghi Effendi. The group holds that the Guardianship must continue without a break.
The main Bahá'í community does not recognise the group and regards Remey's followers as Covenant-breakers. This page sets out both views descriptively. The library takes no position on which is right. According to Wikipedia, the group numbers only a few dozen people in the United States.
IIHistory
Charles Mason Remey was born in 1874 in Iowa. He was an architect and one of the early American Bahá'ís. In 1951 Shoghi Effendi appointed him president of the International Bahá'í Council and named him a Hand of the Cause. Shoghi Effendi died in 1957 without a will naming a successor, and Remey signed, with the other Hands, a statement confirming this.
In 1960 Remey declared himself the second Guardian. Almost the entire Bahá'í world rejected the claim, and on 26 July 1960 he was declared a Covenant-breaker. His early following numbered around a hundred, mostly in the United States.
- 1951President of the International Bahá'í CouncilShoghi Effendi appoints Remey to the post.
- 1957Shoghi Effendi diesThe Hands, Remey among them, confirm that no successor was appointed.
- 1960Remey claims the GuardianshipOn 26 July he is declared a Covenant-breaker.
- 1966Ruling on the nameA US court bars Remey's faction from using the Bahá'í trademark.
- 1969Joel Marangella claims the officeBased on a 1961 letter from Remey, he wins the support of most of Remey's followers.
- 1974Remey diesOn 4 February in Florence, Italy.
- 2008Appeals rulingThe Seventh Circuit finds that the 1966 order does not apply to successor groups.
- 2013Marangella diesOn 1 September in San Diego.
IIITwo Readings of the Guardianship
The group's view. According to Wikipedia, Remey argued that the presidency of the International Bahá'í Council was the only position suggestive of authority that Shoghi Effendi ever conferred. That council was seen as the embryo of the Universal House of Justice, which under 'Abdu'l-Bahá's will is headed by the Guardian. The group concludes that its president was the next Guardian and that a House of Justice without a Guardian is not valid.
The main community's view. The main Bahá'í community does not recognise the group because 'Abdu'l-Bahá's will requires the Guardian to be a male descendant of Bahá'u'lláh appointed by the previous Guardian. Remey was not a descendant of Bahá'u'lláh, was never appointed, and had himself signed the 1957 statement that Shoghi Effendi left no successor. His claim was also not confirmed by the Hands resident in Haifa. In 1963 the Universal House of Justice confirmed that it had no authority to appoint a new Guardian.
Beyond the question of the Guardian, the group uses the same scriptures of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the same Badí' calendar and most of the same laws as the main community.
IVOrganisation and Size
Remey's followers split into several small groups after his death. Those who followed Joel Marangella took the name Orthodox Bahá'í Faith and kept their own National Spiritual Assembly in the United States. According to Wikipedia, a website of the group names Nosrat'u'llah Bahremand as the fourth Guardian. Leland Jensen's BUPC also came out of the Remey line and has its own page in the library.
The group is very small. According to Wikipedia, in 1988 it had no more than 100 members, 11 of them in Roswell, New Mexico. A 2007 court filing listed 40 US members, and a 2010 news report gave about 50. It is present in the United States and India.
VIn Vietnam
No source has been found for any presence of this group in Vietnam. The Bahá'í Community of Vietnam, recognised by the state in 2008, belongs to the main Bahá'í community under the Universal House of Justice and has no connection with the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith.
VISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIOther Branches of the Bahá'í Faith
The Worldwide Bahá'í Communityجامعهٔ بهائیThe Bahá'í Faith has no denominations.Bahá'í Community of VietnamCộng đồng tôn giáo Baha'i Việt NamNot a separate branch but the national community of the same Faith under the Universal House of Justice.Uses the common symbol of the pathOrthodox Bahá'í FaithOrthodox Bahá'í FaithFollowers of Mason Remey, who in 1960 claimed to be the Guardian after Shoghi Effendi, later led by Joel Marangella.Uses the common symbol of the pathBahá'ís Under the Provisions of the CovenantBahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant (BUPC)Founded by Leland Jensen in Montana in the 1960s and 1970s, also claiming a line of Guardians via Mason Remey.Uses the common symbol of the pathAzali Bábísازلی AzalīNot Bahá'ís.Uses the common symbol of the pathVIIISources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
What is the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith
A small group following Mason Remey, who in 1960 declared himself Guardian in succession to Shoghi Effendi. It holds that the Guardianship continues. According to Wikipedia, it numbers only a few dozen people, mostly in the United States.
Why does the main Bahá'í community not recognise it
Because 'Abdu'l-Bahá's will requires the Guardian to be a male descendant of Bahá'u'lláh appointed by his predecessor. Remey met neither condition, and he himself had signed a 1957 statement that Shoghi Effendi left no successor.
Does the group use different scriptures
Essentially no. It uses the same scriptures and the Badí' calendar. The main difference is its belief that the Guardianship continues and its rejection of the authority of the present Universal House of Justice.